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BLACK IS BACK BY ALEX MACKAY
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The caviar of lentils. These most glamorous of pulses are guaranteed to get your pulse racing before you eat them and do it good while you do. That’s our lentils, small dark and handsome. Not to mention very, very, tasty.
Beluga® Lentils originated in prehistory, growing wild in the valleys of what would become Syria. Later, in the great plains of America, a small farmer discovered that Beluga® Lentils were the highest protein pulse they had ever come across. This company, aptly named Timeless Seeds, immediately realised the potential of this super food, both nutritionally and for pure pleasure. A perfect food for the 21st Century where modern man is over fed but under nourished.
These lentils’ small size makes for a short cooking time. Their delicate flavour makes them a willing bedmate for all sorts of ingredients, from fish to fowl and earth to sea. I am always excited at the prospect of a new ingredient in my repertoire (admittedly in this case, one that’s been around for thousands of years), especially an ingredient that is so easily combined with all of my old favourites. I also eat with my eyes and love the way their vibrant black colour sets off the dish.
At present there is an anti presentation sentiment among many chefs - they throw food on the plate and make it look “rustic” (that word really has a lot to answer for). I like food that looks lovely. Why should your taste buds be the only sense that gets a treat when you eat? It is not only me that enjoys a visual feast but everyone who has come to my cookery school over the last eight years. These are real people who cook, who shop carefully and devour cookbooks. So perhaps those chefs that don’t work on their presentation are pleasing themselves more than those they serve.
A colour that was often missing from the cook’s palette was black. Black is back with our Beluga® Lentils. I know pressed sturgeon eggs are black too, but these are out of reach of most wallets, have a very specific flavour and are best enjoyed with little adornment, i.e. sitting on a blini with a dollop of sour cream. Not that I don’t love eating caviar a few times a year but they are not an ingredient for the everyday pantry.
I make warm salads of Black Beluga® Lentils, doused with olive oil and set off with strips of red pepper and SunBlush® Tomatoes. Another warm salad, perfect for winter, is with some sliced pumpkin, grilled and brushed with pumpkin seed oil and balsamic vinegar, served over a mixture of Beluga® Lentils with the same vinaigrette, diced mozzarella and chorizo.
Their earthy flavour also suits sweet accompaniment. Tiger prawns, roasted peppers or gently braised beetroot. They also love the luxury of cream, creamed Beluga®, an opulent name, say it out loud, it rolls off the tongue as does each individual grain. A dish of creamed Beluga® lentils with bacon is a comfort food that you can eat and will warm your cockles on a winter’s day. There is an old French dish, petit sale aux lentilles where pork belly is cooked with lentils, aromatic vegetables and herbs - a one pot glory that is delicious with Beluga® Lentils. Or if you like some spice, combine them with hot sausages like chorizo, a little chilli and a little barbeque sauce (I’m serious, this is wonderful).
Merchant Gourmet Black Beluga® Lentils are delicious and versatile. Good things really do come in small packages and black is very beautiful. |
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